Volunteers contact the new A.A. member and arrange to take them to an A.A. meeting, preferably within 24-48 hours of their discharge. Your commitment is taking them to as many as six meetings. During this time, you help them get a meeting schedule, phone numbers, and perhaps locate a sponsor and/or a home group. Also tell them about the different types of A.A. meeting formats there are, familiarize them with A.A. literature, introduce them to others in A.A., etc. To become a volunteer, fill out the Bridging the Gap/Temporary Contact Volunteer Form.

Many groups periodically hold a "group inventory meeting" to evaluate how well they are fulfilling their primary purpose: to help alcoholics recover through AA's suggested Twelve Steps of recovery. Some groups take inventory by examining our Twelve Traditions, one at a time, to determine how well they are living up to these principles.

The questions on this worksheet were compiled from A.A. shared experience, and may be useful in arriving at an informed group conscience. Groups will probably wish to add questions of their own.

To arrange for a Temporary Contact, the client or staff member can fill out the form Bridging the Gap/Temporary Contact Client Form.

Bridging the Gap/Temporary Contact Program provides an opportunity for alcoholics in a treatment program who wish to attend Alcoholics Anonymous (A.A.) after their discharge. It is designed .to assist in making the transition from the facility to A.A. The most "slippery" place in the journey to lifelong sobriety is between the doors of the facility and the nearest A.A. group or meeting. This program is designed to help with that transition.